Humanity's Guardian: Forest of the Dead
by The Obsidian Warrior
Summary: A warrior ancient. A curse awakened. One last chance at redemption. Rated T for violence, death and swearing. Parallel universe - no TARDIS, regeneration, aliens, etc. First fanfic.
1. Prologue

**Doctor Who: Humanity's Guardian: Prologue**

**Sup everyone, the Obsidian Warrior here, with my first Fanfiction. Please no hates, blah blah blah etc. So, on with the story!**

The man strode with swift steps through the cold, dreary day, his long navy jacket billowing behind him from the chilly wind. His short hair, in contrast to his cloak, was barely effected by the weather, and remained as neat, tidy and, as he liked to think, attractive, as always. His brown eyes scanned the street with an alert look lurking in them, and the confident smirk on his face was clearly not genuine. His hand would occasionally drift down to his thigh, where he had no doubt that he had a weapon hidden under that coat of his. The Doctor took all this in with a moment's glance, and from then on was wary of him.

The Doctor himself had neat, graying hair and old blue grey eyes. He wore a black, woolen, expensive coat, with crimson lining on the inside over a white shirt, black cardigan and trousers to match his jacket. He was unarmed, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.

Oh, and he just loved McDonald's.

A genius invention the hamburger was, in his opinion. Of course, he was perfectly fit, and only occasionally ate at Micky D's, so don't start thinking of him the wrong way.

His eyes bore no warth at all, only an everlasting sadness, and an even greater anger. The Doctor. A man, but so much more. A Time Lord. A genius. An inventor. A warrior. A strategist. Legend said him to walk in fire, to fight gods and demons, to be one of humanity's ancient protectors.

But mostly, they spoke of his downfall.

His darkest day. His greatest enemy.

"You're him, aren't you?" someone asked. The Doctor looked at the man who spoke, the

"I'm who, sorry?" he replied with a question, acting dumb.

The man smirked. "You know who. Last of the Time Lords, the Doctor, blah blah blah etc."

The Doctor tilted his head to one side then gestured to the empty chair.

The man stared at him like he was insane. He probably was, actually.

"I know, they're not really chips, they're called fries, but there's no need to give me that kind of look." the Doctor said.

The man opened his mouth to say something as the Doctor casually began to continue.

"Doctor, you're wanted for your crimes. We can do this the easy way or we can do this the

"Wanted by who, Torchwood? That's who you work for, isn't it? The Torchwood agency. Should have known, only Victoria would want me captured this badly."

"Queen Victoria is dead."

"But her influence lives on, eh?"

"That's it. You can surrender now or else I'll have to resort to force."

Then the Doctor said four words that made the man stop.

"Ever wondered about death?" he said, all traces of friendliness gone from his voice.

The man turned towards him.

"Death. Do we simply cease to exist? All our memories, all our thought, just gone? Our conciousness suddenly vanished? For everyone, no matter who they may be, the world is centered around themselves. So does our world simply end?

"Or is there an afterlife? Are we trialled for our crimes? Is there a Heaven and Hell, an Elysium and Tartarus, a Valhalla and Hel, a Duat, an Underworld?

"Do we remain on Earth, ghosts, watching but not being seen, speaking but not being spoken to, listening but not being heard?

"Is their rebirth, and if so what happens? Are our memories wiped, our bodies re-created? What happens to our old personality?

"Are we all just memories, memories of those who passed? Are we already gone, but live our lives again?

"I only know one thing. I don't want to go. And you are not taking me today."

The man reached for the weapon the Doctor knew he had, this time purposefully instead of subconsciously. The Doctor smirked coldly as the man found nothing there, and held up the man's desert eagle.

"It says J.H. I'm assuming that's you?"

The man hesitated, then nodded.

"And what might that stand for?"

"Harkness... Captain Jack Harkness." The man managed.

"Good. I like to know the names of the people I kill."

And then the Doctor, without any trace of emotion of regret, fired point blanc at Jack's

There was screaming as Jack fell. Footsteps as he took his last ragged breaths, watching the Doctor casually stand and leave the McDonald's. Jack reached weakly for the bullet wound, then found hands reaching for him. He shook them off, despite knowing they were there to help. There was nothing they could do.

He let his head fall back, his dying mind drifting to what the Doctor had said about death.

What would happen? He guessed he was about to find out.

Then the Doctor's words rang out through his head. _I don't want to go. And you are not taking me today._

And then, his hand gripping the table leg, Jack Harkness pulled himself upright.

**And there you have it!**

**To explain what's going on, this is a magic epic parallel universe of magicness in which the Time Lords are blessed 'Guardians' who cannot die of natural causes. There's no TARDIS or time/space travel, Gallifrey is a ruined city, and the Doctor is wanted by Torchwood and other agencies for crimes. Any Whovian should know what I'm talking about. More will be revealed in future chapters. Anyone who spots all the quotes and references in this from the canon series can have a cookie.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Tsup everyone! I apologise for not updating in a while, I wasn't entirely sure how to get the plot started. Anyway, minor action in this one again, nothing too crazy, but... actually, Spoilers, sweetie. Just read.**

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart.

Current leader of scientific research in the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who had also been a major leader in UNIT. Blond hair, piercing blue eyes.

Though they were nothing on the Doctor's.

She glared daggers into him - thankfully not literally - as they sat across from each other at her desk.

"What do you want?" She asked.

He smiled, though the smile was condenscending, cruel, almost though he were a god and she were his slave.

Actually, it was like that.

"I want help." He said.

"So you come to UNIT, one of the Earth's greatest agencies, as perhaps the worlds most wanted criminal and terrorist, for help? To complain?"

"Well, I am Scottish. I really can complain."

"Piss off."

He reached out and lifted her chin with a single finger.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

She put on a straight emotionless face, though he felt her throat briefly gulping.

"You do not speak to me in that way." He said, "I am a god to you mere human. You will treat me as I deserve!"

"Oh, you mean to have you sent to holding cells at once! My father respected you. What happened to the man he trusted?" She snapped.

"He pissed off." The Doctor said camly, roughly snapping her head back as he removed his finger from her chin.

Kate glared at him.

She had a gun in her pocket. One that she could load and shoot at a second's notice.

Her hand twitched.

She left the pistol where it was.

The Doctor gave her a curious look.

"What makes you humans so... loyal? I am aware of your arms. Why do you not use it?"

"Because then I'd be no better than you." She said, though her voice betrayed her.

"Ah, fear, was that? Tell me Kate Stewart - have you ever taken a life?"

She remained silent.

"No? Interesting. You send men to battle on your behalf, obeying your orders, prepared to kill and die for you and your command."

"S- Shut up."

"You're nothing."

"I-"

"Kate Stewart. You. Are. Nothing. You are hypocrite who tries and fails to lead, a child who tries and fail to understand things beyond her. Nothing."

The gun was out, and firing.

But her shaking with rage and embarassment had turned her aim wild.

The bullets hit the wall and stuck there.

Outside, she heard the guard leaping to his feet and fumbling with the locked door.

The Doctor laughed cruelly.

"Kate Stewart. Congratulations. You are no better than I. Like I said, a hypocrite."

"You-"

He smiled and raised a finger to his lips.

"_Shh._"

She suddenly felt some unseen force prevent sound from leaving her lips.

"Simple psychic trick. Easy for a _Time Lord_." He said the words 'Tome Lord' like an insult.

She stood, but her pushed her back down, roughly gripping her wrists.

"Now now now, none of that. Don't worry, shouldn't last long."

She already felt herself regaining her speech.

"And neither will that door." She said suddenly, as the door burst off it's hinges.

The Doctor whirled round as three UNIT armed personnel barged into the room, all with their guns trained on him.

Laser pointers swirled in his chest.

_Three against one, odds already against._

_Guns... armed, all of them. Myself, not._

_Escape options: door - blocked; windows - One, behind; other exits - ventilation shaft, too locked._

_Well damn._

_Hold Kate as hostage?_

_With what?_

_Three of them young, running or force not much of an option._

He was reaching a decision.

"I surrender."

**There you go!**

**I decided to update today as it's Christmas and you all deserve a present. I hope you have seen this year's Christmas special by now. Bit cheesy, me thinks.**

**I literally wrote this entire chapter like, right before I will be uploading it. You better be thankful.**

**More references! I think that's my new favourite pastime!**

**And a little more insight into both this Doctor's mind and personality! Although, he's basically a seriously OOC Peter Capaldi.**

**Kate Stewart! A large amount of this story will focus around UNIT and Torchwood trying to sort out the Doctor, so Kate will be an important character.**

**Anyway, I'm kinda rambling right now, so... I'm out!**

**Please review and thank you to 4thSmalley, if you're reading this, for your review on the last chapter!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Tsup everyone!**

**So, yeah. This story, I think, is starting to get interesting. Do you agree? I agree. I agree with myself.**

**That's not sad at all.**

**I am 100% not a loner.**

**Sorry, got distracted. This chapter will have lots of talking and interrogations, while the next will have large insights into this Doctor's mind.**

**Spooky!**

Osgood stared at the computer screen, frowning as her fingers rapidly pattered on the noisy keyboard.

Outside, she heard a loud commotion as a group passed by, with three soldiers escorting a man with grey hair along the corridor.

Kate Stewart trailed along behind, standing tall with her chin up and a clipboard held at her chest.

She glanced around the corridors and, seeing Osgood, smiled slightly amd entered the room.

"Was that the Doctor!" Osgood blurted out.

Kate suddenly turned sullen and nodded.

"Permission to squeal?"

"He's not the man my father spoke to me of, Osgood. He... he is not a good man."

Osgood's shoulders slumped.

"Well damn."

"I agree. Back to work, anyway, Ms Osgood."

"Of course, ma'am."

"Good," Kate murmured, though she was getting distracted.

"Anyway, I'd better head to the meeting room, Ms Osgood."

Osgood nodded and returned her attention to the computer screen.

The open page depicted an ancient tapestry of the Doctor fighting alongside men against foul creatures who aimed towards the species' extermination.

What had happened to him?

The answer was obvious.

He lost too much to go on.

He saw to much suffering to let the Time War continue.

He understood that sometimes, sacrifices have to be made.

But of course, even Osgood, his greatest fan, did not know very much about the Doctor.

**Ooh, first linebreaker! Anyone else feeling all tingly inside?**

The Doctor sat in a seat at one end of the UNIT meeting table, a guard on either side of him.

Across from him was Kate, wearing her usual stern expression.

Between them were around ten other UNIT leaders, ranging from twenty to around sixty.

The Doctor felt slightly privileged to be the only one who was guarded.

Even if it was in a slightly sadistic way.

Kate began the conversation.

"As you all know, this man - the Doctor - is wanted for his crimes against humanity and the Time Lords, including the genocide of his own people. I suggest -"

"You know," the Doctor said, "I was in a similar conversation with a certain Jack Harkness just a few weeks ago. Funny story. He's dead."

A wave of unease spread through the table.

"Oh, and I killed all of my own people, the Time Lords, exterminated the Daleks - see what I did there? -"

"No you didn't." A minor captain murmured.

"Ah, what was that?"

"There have been sightings of mysterious inhuman figures in the wreck of Mohenjo-Daro." He said shyly.

"Arcadia." The Doctor whispered.

"They say that the very skeletons were blasted into crystal." A general said.

"_They _are very much correct. Harappa?"

"Nothing there. The Citadel, was it?"

"Yes. The Citadel of the Time Lords. It rose high above the beautiful red grass, unique to the Indus Valley. It was beautiful." The Doctor said wistfully.

Suddenly the conversation had taken an interesting turn for the better.

"It matters not." Kate said, and a few of the officials surrounding her nodded in agreement, "These 'figures' are not confirmed to exist. But you, Doctor, certaintly do exist. What is to be done with him?"

"I say take him to the tower!" Someone yelled suddenly.

There was murmur of agreement throughout the table.

"Very well."

"The tower it shall be."

"Wait!" The Doctor yelled suddenly.

"What do you want? Have you not done enough with your words of poison today?" Kate asked sharply.

"One last chance." He said. "Arcadia. One last chance at redemption."

"So the ancient warrior who calls himself the Doctor comes for redemption. And you called me hypocritical."

"Please. Even if I return to the tower afterwards, let me do it. Let me return to Arcadia. One last time."

"Why?"

"Because it's what the ancient warrior deserves." He said sarcastically.

"You deserve nothing." Kate spat.

He pounced at her but was pulled back by the guards.

"You bitch!" He roared.

She looked at him with pure fury in her eyes.

The doors slammed closed behind him was dragged from the room.

She collapsed into the hard wooden chair.

Naturally, it wasn't comfortable.

She hated her job sometimes.

Most of the time.

Always.

But she had to do it none the less.

Because he did it. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Her father. But he was dead now. And she was the best person for the job.

At least, that was what she tried and failed to believe.

**That was... different.**

**Still not sure if I like it.**

**Oh well. Anyway, I might rewrite and repost this chapter depending on how you guys recieve it. I, personally, am not sure about it.**

**I keep on putting canon references in everywhere. Half of me is just like, stop. The other half, the Steven Moffat influenced part, is basically saying: REFERENCECLIFFHANGER KILLFANSHEHEHECRAZYUNEXPECTEDSTUFF.**

**Yeah.**

**We all love Moffat really, though.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Tsup everyone!**

**I have been considering arranging a weekly schedule for you guys to look for updates on this story. So, I've decided to update every Sunday. Times will be uncertain, but... I'm trying. I'm making an effort.**

His cell was a dark, clean room with no windows and grey walls.

There were no windows in it. When the Doctor thought of the Tower of London, he imagined an old-fashioned, dusty, medieval-style prison. Of course UNIT would have upgraded it.

He cursed himself for being so shallow.

Superficiality was one of many things he considered a weakness.

The door was iron and slid open into the wall when unlocked from the outside. The handle - also on the outside - was like that of a large supermarket refrigerator. It was also windowless, not even containing a peep-hole, with the secret camera in the Northeast corner in the room taking that job.

A bed was in another corner, and it looked comfy, at that. Beside it was a bedside table, and there was also a desk in the room, with a chair.

They were not mistreating him, at least.

The furniture was all wood, and of cheap, weak wood at that. The Doctor knew that this was not due to UNIT budget cuts - they didn't want prisoners to use items meant for thir comft to their advantage.

On the wall was a shelf with some poetry books and related stuff, like the Odyssey and some Shakespeare works. The Doctor picked one up and examined it. Good quality cover, real leather, written in beautiful handwriting on decemt paper, nicely ilustrated, etc.

Sometimes he thought too much.

The mysterious creatures in Arcadia bugged him. Mohenjo-Daro, as the humans called it, was 'Evidence of Ancient Nuclear Warfare', as was Harappa, the Citadel.

They were wrong. It was not Nuclear energy that killed his people.

It was something far more powerful.

Thinking about Arcadia brought his mind to _her. _Surely she could not be alive?

Either way, he wanted to find out.

He needed to.

He needed to distract himself, so he focused his mind on Kate, the bitchy one.

He hated her.

Her hated them all.

If only they knew.

They would scream and cry and run and-

He closed his eyes to clear his mind.

Despite this, the shadow of Arcadia would not leave him for quite some time.

The bed was comfortable. The Doctor tried to think of the last time he'd slept in a comfortable bed.

Or a bed at all.

Must have been quite some time now - he barely needed sleep, most natural events that affected the human body simply passed over Time Lords. Or Time Lord, now.

Unless it was true.

For example, he could not age, become sick or ill, wrinkle, become extremely obese - at least not as quickly as a human, be sleep-deprived, catch a disease, or get sunburn/tan.

He was perfectly capable of being wounded, and knew this from personal experience. He could be shot or stabbed, basically killed, and also poisoned, though it took a greater dose than it did for humans.

He liked the feeling of sleep, though. Calm. A break from the constant pressure, thoughts, feelings...

He closed his eyes. The world turned dark for him and he almost panicked. A wry smile touched his lips. Fear was nothing now.

Within minutes he was asleep.

He woke in an open space. The fog was so thick that the ground couldn't even be seen while regularly standing.

He crouched down and found that there _was_ no ground, only emptiness.

This was impossible.

Says the thousand year old almost immortal Time Lord.

He realised he must be dreaming and laughed slightly coldly.

"Didn't think I could do this anymore." He said.

"Evidently you can, Theta."

He turned, but no one was there.

"Interesting." He said.

A woman materialised in front of him. One he recognised.

"Of course." He whispered, "Who else would I want to see?"

"Who else would you want to see? Ooh, I wonder why you can't see me. Oh, I remember now - it's your own fault!"

"Shut up." He said slightly weakly. She could bring him to his knees so easily. She always could.

She laughed slightly hysterically.

"I said, SHUT UP!" He roared, letting the anger out once again.

Fear briefly flashed in her eyes.

She didn't speak.

"My dream." He said, slightly shocked, "My rules."

She gulped slightly.

"Now then. Arcadia. You know what's happening in Arcadia, don't you?"

She did not answer.

"ANSWER ME!"

"You used to be so brave, so honourable. What happened?" She sneered.

"Good bloody question. War happened. And war makes monsters of men."

"You are more than just a man. Stonger. More intelligent. So much potential."

"And what about you? You didn't exactly fight with honour, bravery, and all that crap you speak of."

"You know about me."

"And you know me."

The distance between them had closed. She looked up slightly at his tall frame, though not much. He leaned down, and she met him in the middle.

The kiss was slow and passionate, hesitant but caring. It was nothing like the ones of the old days, before the war, but it was... her.

He realised with a pang how much he'd missed her.

How much he'd continue to miss her.

How much...

He pulled away.

"What do you want?"

"You, my love. Join us."

He laughed.

"Trying to guilt me into suicide? Wait... of course, I'm trying to guilt myself into suicide. That's it, isn't it? Mention of Arcadia sparks memories, memories spark guilt, guilt brings weakness, weakness such as exhaustion, unawareness, and... this. Love. Loss."

"So tightly bound together there cannot be one without the other." She said.

"Interesting. You are, technically speaking, my subconsciousness. But that's just what dreams are, aren't they? Mind is exhausted, subconsciousness replays something usually related to the day, something stressful or important. Worried about an exam - have a nightmare about failure. Just bought a new house - dream about your happy ever after."

"You used to say that there was no such thing."

"There isn't. No wonder I could so easily control you earlier. This isn't a vision, it's simply a figment of my imagination. And Time Lords have vivid imagination."

He stopped to smile slightly.

"Am I correct? Why do I even ask, of course I am. You're not the same because you've been changed by my imagination, become even more perfect than you already were. Slight changes, only noticeable by someone who knew you as well as I do. Or rather, did," he said quite arrogantly, "Now, if you don't mind, I think it's wakey wakey time. Farewell, 'My Love'."

"Remember this, Doctor." She said suddenly, "There is no redemption waiting for yo in Arcadia. You would do better dead."

"I'm so sorry. But I have killed to stay alive. And that will never change."

The dream faded, and he returned to the world of reality.

**Whoah!**

**That was, if I may say so myself, absolutely fantastic. Best. Chapter. Yet.**

**It's also considerably longer than the others, so that's a bonus!**

**As you can see, when I said that we'd be taking a look into the Doctor's head, I meant it. This is almost definately the best piece of writing I've ever done.**

**Thank you to The Man With Fantastic Hair and tanya-arrianeNL for reviewing, and... yeah! Thank you, so very very much, for reading!**


	5. AN: New Poll, Weekly Updates

**A/N**

**WARNING: THIS IS AN AUTHORS NOTE. IF YOU FIND THIS KIND OF THING BORING, THEN PLEASE FEEL FREE TO NOT READ. IF YOU MERELY FIND _ME _BORING, THEN YOU ARE A BAD, BAD PERSON.**

**Tsup everyone!**

**This is my first major A/N, so yay! Three cheers for the Obsidian Warrior!**

**Anyway, on to important things. If you head to my profile page now, you will find at the very top, just below the regular fanfiction bar that sits at the top of the webpage, a poll. This poll is actually quite relevant to the story, but read Chapter 3 before voting.**

**So, also, in the last chapter I mentioned weekly updates. Sunday was the day I mentioned, because, well, Sunday is a good day. Weekly updates are actually currently my major aim. However, the reason I am not confirming that there will be weekly updates every Sunday is because I value quality before quantity. I put a lot of effort into making the chapters as good as I can, and am not entirely sure if I can produce that in a week at the moment.**

**However, Sunday remains official update day, so I will keep updates to Sunday, or Sunday night, rather. Sunight.**

**I think that I am probably boring you to death right now, so I'll stop. Quick recap though: New poll – consider before voting; weekly updates possible; Sunday night official update time.**

**See you next Sunday!**

**I hope!**


	6. Chapter 4

**Tsup everyone!**

**Welcome once again to another chapter. This is the first one that I'm really walking into blind. To be honest, this chapter could be anything.**

**But, it's certainly not involving the Doctor... ;)**

Captain Jack Harkness should be dead.

There was no way he could be alive - it defied the laws of the universe, laws that are and always will be unchangeable.

This power made no sense. How can he even be standing here in the hotel, unwrapping the bandage around his wound, staring at the gash that lead straight to his heart.

His still beating heart.

He wondered what the Doctor was up to now.

Probably strutting around some secret base, calmly killing those who stood in his way. Egotistical bastard. Jack would kill him, whenever they met again.

He swore it.

Going over to where his navy jacket was folded on a chair, he unfolded it and pulled his phone out of one of the pockets. An iPhone 6+, new and shiny, prime condition.

He put in the passcode - F4ceOfBoe - and sent a quick text to his colleagues at Torchwood. Or just Gwen, rather.

_Tracked him down, but he escaped. Long story. Tell u later. _;)

He tossed his phone onto the bed and collapsed into the chair, closing his eyes. A beep interrupted him suddenly and he shot to his feet, picking up his phone.

_What the f*ck, Jack. We had him tracked down. I told you not to mess up!_

He considered her answer. If he texted the wrong message back, he end up in trouble. Big trouble. Even though he was her superior, he did not want to end up on her bad side.

Then his savior came in the form of her own text.

_Anyway, I'll berate you later. I just got a call from Kate Stewart._

_And? _;)

_She wants to see you._

_Y? _;)

_She claims she has him prisoner. UNIT have the Doctor._

Jack climbed out of the private jet onto UNIT's private landing field. Waiting for him was a woman with glasses and brown hair.

"Name's Captain Jack Harkness. Absolute pleasure to meet you." He said with a smirk, flashing her a wink.

"Osgood." She returned, seemingly ignoring his attempt at flirting, "Secretary of the UNIT department of scientific research."

"So, where are we going?" He asked, letting his more serious side take over.

"UNIT HQ. Kate Stewart wants to meet you."

"So I've heard." He muttered, glancing around to see if there were any other attractive female figures on the landing field. Ones who would turn red at his perfectly worded pickup lines. Even a decent male would do.

"Stop." Osgood said suddenly.

"Stop what?"

"You know what."

He sighed and pulled out his phone, sending a quick text to Gwen.

_Arrived London. _;)

_Why do you do that?_

_Do what? _;)

_The wink face._

_I do that? Oh, soz, subconcious instinct. _;)

He turned back to Osgood.

"So how did you end up capturing _him_?" He said the word him with as much spite as he could muster.

"He came to us for shelter. We denied him that."

"Bit... I dunno, unfair?"

"From what I've heard, he claimed to have killed you. Though that is clearly not true, I don't think he's exactly the best of people."

"No. He did kill me."

"What?"

Finally, some interest.

"I've got a bullet wound right here, on my heart," he tapped it, "Shot me, should have killed me. I don't even know how I'm alive."

"Interesting."

"The world's an interesting place."

She nodded, and the rest of the journey was composed solely of an extremely awkward silence.

Kate drummed her fingers on the table. Outside the window, she could see a glimpse of the car arriving. She swallowed slightly and stood, walking to the window. She watched as Captain Jack Harkness exited the vehicle, staring up at the massive hulk of a building. Osgood followed, leaving on the other side and slamming the door behind her. Harkness turned to her and said something that Kate couldn't hear from that distance.

They walked briskly into the building, Harkness still speaking to Osgood. Kate returned to her seat, thinking. It was a mere 24 hours since she had met the Doctor for the first time, but so much had conspired in such a short time. Let's just say that her first impression of him hadn't been the best, and leave it at that.

Behind her was a large painting of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, perhaps one of UNIT's greatest leaders and her father. The Doctor and he had been great friends, working together for years before the Time War, before the Doctor had to leave to fight alongside his people against the mutated Dalek kind.

She sighed and simply stared at the door, keeping her pose stiff and strong. Hopefully Captain Jack Harkness would be nothing like her last guest.

She could hear voices approaching the door in the corridor outside. One was Osgood's accent, British and fairly average. The other was American, probably New York, as that was where Torchwood was based.

The door was pushed open and Osgood walked in, followed by Jack, a man with neatly cut brown hair, dark eyes, and a slightly confident smile. He wore braces and a blue shirt under a long navy coat.

Kate stood and introduced herself.

"Kate Stewart, head of scientific research at the Unified Intelligence Taskforce."

"You know, I'd have been fine with 'Kate Stewart, head of science.' My name's Captain Jack Harkness, leader of Torchwood."

She nodded.

"I hear you have the Doctor." He said.

She nodded once again.

"Kill him." She was taken aback by his sudden change of mood.

"I'm sorry?"

"Kill him. He deserves it. He's a cold-blooded killer."

"I don't know about Torchwood, but UNIT certainly don't kill our prisoners."

"No, you're right, it's not how we normally do things. But listen to me. He's no normal criminal. He's committed genocide, terrorism, murder and so much more. Now do the right thing."

"Killing the Doctor is not the 'right' thing."

"No. But it's the thing that might just save the world. Right now? He's in prison. In a hundred years, maybe five, or even a thousand? He'll be laughing as London crumbles to nothing, as we die, and our flesh rots, and our bones dissolve into dust, and the dust is swept away into the wind. Now save the world and just bloody _kill him._"

**That was, just a little, kinda dark.**

**At least the end.**

**Anyway, I won't bore you to death with more ANs. However, I think I have my schedule planned out.**

**Every Sunday there will be an update. Every fourth Sunday, in addition to the usual update, there will be a large AN. So, this means that every fifth upload will be an AN.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, anyway. Please do vote on the poll on my page, as it does give you a chance to influence the story without PMing or reviewing.**

**Anyway, thank you to Pokesassin for reviewing, and I'll see you all later!**


	7. Chapter 5

**Tsup everyone!**

**I hope you've all been enjoying this story so far. Personally, it's my favourite project so far. And my first fanfic. Yeah. Oh well! On with the stooory!**

The Doctor's eyes shot open.

The room was pitch black, but it took his vision merely seconds to adjust. There was a slightly tense feel in the air. He had a feeling something was about to happen.

He thought about the room again, the positioning of the entrance, of all the furniture...

His mind turned suddenly to the guards.

Each one was equipped with a low-level sonic remote, with one button for each cell. The remote sent out a pulse similar to that on an electronic car lock.

An electronic car lock with a signal that was easily intercepted...

The door opened.

In stepped the guard.

"Dinner." He said cheerily. The Doctor stood and took the bowl from him. Inside was a fairly appetising vegetable stew and a metallic spoon.

He sat back down on the bed and thought.

Then he got to work.

The guard left and closed the door behind him. The Doctor had no doubt that he had locked the door behind him.

He tried nonetheless.

Locked. As he'd thought.

He pulled the chair over to the centre of the room and climbed on it to reach the light. Already off, as the Doctor knew would mean that he'd be less visible from the security camera, he pulled out the bulb.

He examined it, making sure to catch every detail of the engineering. It looked to be fairly simple, but he had an idea of what to do with it.

He placed it carefully on the floor and returned to the lamp, this time working with the wires and carefully unplugging one. After making sure the electric pulse was deactivated, he dropped it to the floor.

He smiled and worked with some more, before deciding that he didn't have enough apparatus.

He walked over to the camera and picked up the chair, smashing it against it.

He didn't get why the security on the lights and camera was so... simplistic. Or none existant.

He pulled the wreck of the security camera of the wall and untangled the wires. He had enough this time to get to work.

It was time to break out the real way.

The Doctor was finally done.

He picked up his invention. Built with the spoon as a handle, it was covered in a mess of wires and buttons. On the top was the lightbulb, linked up to the rest of the machine.

His sonic device.

Sonic spoon.

Suddenly he heard the guard rushing towards the door. He smiled. Looked like they'd found out about the camera.

The door unlocked.

The sonic acknowledged the signal and recorded it.

The Doctor flicked a button and twirled a lever, the small screen on it's side flashing with some illuminated yellow letters.

The door locked.

On the other side, the Doctor heard the guard smash into the door.

The door he'd expected to open.

The guard slammed on the door with his fists and pressed against it.

The Doctor grinned and flicked the lever the other way.

The door flew open and the guard tumbled to the ground.

"Hello." The Doctor said, "I am the Doctor, and this, is my spoon."

"What the-"

The Doctor had already stepped over him - or rather, on him - and exited the room.

The guard struggle to his feet and the Doctor flicked the lever again.

The door slammed and locked in the guard's face.

"At least it's quite a pleasant room!" The Doctor called.

He heard a muffled curse come back.

Laughing, the Doctor turned back to the task at hand.

The other guards were noticing him.

He quickly picked up the guard's fallen remote and pressed all the buttons, making all the doors open.

"Hello, hello, everybody!" He called, "Looks like you're all entitled to a get out of jail free card!"

The room was chaos.

The Doctor felt proud.

He patted the sonic spoon and placed it in his pocket, closing the buttons.

He walked casually through the chaos, smiling as-

As a fist smashed into his face-

As he looked up to see-

Impossible.

"Captain Jack Harkness. Pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Doctor."

"What the fuck?"

"Oh yeah, did I mention, I'm back from the dead! Just a regular day!"

"How-"

"Now it's your turn to die." Jack said, his mood turning serious. Jack pulled out a revolver and aimed it at the Doctor's head.

"Made sure it was loaded this time." He said.

"If you do this, you're no better than I."

"You're wrong. I will be. Do you want to know why?"

He leaned in close.

"Because I'm saving the world."

He pressed the gun to the Doctor's head.

"Harkness! What the hell are you doing."

Jack froze, his gun still pressed to the Doctor's head.

"Ooh, Kate being a bit bitchy, is she? Yeah, she's always like that." The Doctor said.

Jack nodded slightly obscenely. The Doctor grinned.

"Guess we're not as different as we thought."

"Fuck off."

"You know, you are the first person I've met who managed to survive a shot directly to the hearrt. Props for that, Mr. Harkness."

Around them, the room had been restored to order.

"Well, you're the first person in years to manage as great an attempted breakout as this out of the Tower. Congrats."

"Why thank you."

Kate had reached them by now.

"Mr. Harkness, what the hell are you doing?"

"My... duty?"

"Just don't, Jack."

"Ooh, trying to kill me without permission, were you? Uh oh, that's a big N-O in UNIT!"

"Doctor, shut up."

"Nope. That's no fun."

"Harkness... listen, I just recieved a message from some agents in Arcadia."

"So?"

"They've confirmed movement at the city. The Time Lords are alive."

"Impossible."

"Says the man who just came back from the dead. And, Doctor?"

"Yes?" He said, his face grim.

"This is your mission. Jack, let him up."

"Wait... my mission?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're going to be leading a party straight into the last city of the Time Lords. I thought you wanted redemption?"

He stared at her.

Jack stared at her.

"Otherwise, I'm fine with Jack's plans for you." She said.

**Oooh... CLIFFIE! YES!**

**That chapter sooooo was different to the others, perhaps not as good, but... I hope you enjoyed anyway.**

**The ANs won't be as large anymore due to the mega AN every five weeks, but, I'll still say minor things.**

**Funny things. You know me.**

**Anyway, see you all later!**


	8. AN: Collaboration Fic, Sickness

**Tsup everyone!**

**I've been sick all week and have been unable to write this story due to this among other things. I'm also preparing for exams - not the worst exams in the world, but exams.**

**By the way, there is actually another reason for this blog. If you read the reviews, you may notice that my main reviewer is 'The Man With Fantastic Hair'.**

**He's actually my friend, as in, real life, and we're planning a Wholock collaboration fic!**

**Just had to drop that bomb.**

**Anyway, this might not be out for a few weeks, but we'll set a date amd episode one will be out for that time.**

**For anyone who's wondering if I'm drifting away from this story, Humanity's Guardian will remain my priority, and I will be updating this Sunday as has become traditional.**

**See you all then!**


	9. Chapter 6

**Tsup everyone!**

**I am perfectly aware that it has been two weeks since I last did an update for this story. If you don't know why, please check out the previous AN - explains the whole scenario along with some future plans. ;) Jack Harkness™.**

"Doctor, this is Professor River Song, an archaeologist. She's been in charge of excavations in Harappa for years."

He raised his gaze to see Captain Jack Harkness leading a middle aged woman with bouncy blond curls and a confident smirk.

"We've met." He said curtly.

"And may I say, Doctor, you are looking fine." She said.

"Enough flirting." Jack scolded.

"You're one to talk." She snapped back. The Doctor smirked slightly; she had a sharp tongue and, as he knew from experience, a sharper palm.

As for the Doctor and Harkness... they hadn't been getting on too badly recently. They didn't like each other, maybe even despised each other, but... they had an understanding.

Actually, yeah, they despised each other.

Definitely.

"And where's Kate on this fine morning?" The Doctor asked boredly. Jack glanced outside the window, where the weather was a typical northern European rain.

"Couldn't tell you." He replied. The Doctor grinned, just a little. Harkness was clearly one for keping his emotions bottled up inside.

"Anyway, Doctor, they've found something."

He stood and walked over to the two of them.

"And that is..."

"A pendant." Jack replied, "solid gold, from what we can tell. With strange markings on the cover."

"Cover?"

"It opens. To reveal something fascinating. A watch. A working, powered, ancient watch."

_It was many a year ago when the Doctor first stared into the swirling depths of the Untempered Schism._

_It was where the transformation began. You became a Time Lord, or you were driven to great depths of insanity._

_Or both._

_Take Koschei as am example._

_Upon becoming a Time Lord, each was bestowed with a watch. Though simple seeming, it was an engineering feat at the time, many thousand years ago, and held much more value than merely telling the time._

_This was a Fob Watch, and they simbolised everything a Time Lord was. The markings on the front - lettering, the Gallifreyan alphabet - spelled the Time Lord's name, their true name, not the one they took._

_It acted as an ID back then; you had a Fob Watch, you had an access all areas passcode. It was the mark of a Time Lord._

The Doctor was drawn out of the past by Harknes asking him a question.

"What is it?"

"It's a Fob Watch," River replied, "the mark and possesion of a Time Lord. And proof of ancient technology greater than what we believe."

"How do you know?" Harkness enquired.

"The Doctor already said we've met. Let's leave it at that."

"Do you have one?" Harkness asked, adressing the Doctor.

He hesitated.

"Not anymore." He said.

Jack picked up the Fob Watch from where River had tossed it on the table and examined it.

"Did you say solid gold, River?"

"I certainly did. However, that is government property now, and if not, then it's mine."

Jack hesitated, then handed it to the Doctor.

"What does it say?"

"The name of it's owner. Time Lords received Fob Watches after staring into the Untempered Schism, with the name enscribed upon it."

"What's the name?" Jack asked.

The Doctor read it.

His eyebrows raised.

"So who is it?" River asked.

"I can't read it, age must have manipulated the material and damaged it." He lied.

It couldn't be her.

It couldn't.

"Doctor, Harkness, Song, meet Dr Martha Jones."

Kate walked in with a dark haired, dark skinned woman in black soldier gear.

"Hey. I'm Jack Harkness."

"Stop it..." The Doctor warned.

Jack smirked slightly and winked at the newcomer, who was around his age. She ignored him.

"Hypocrite," River muttered, directing her words at Jack.

Jack grinned and murmured back, "No. I'm allowed to do it. Besides, she likes me, I can tell."

River sighed and sat on the table.

"Ms Jones will be joining you on your journey to Arcadia."

"What? I thought this was my quest?"

"You will need aid. No matter what you think, you aren't some kind of god, Doctor." Kate spat.

"Oh yeah, what's your problem with me now?" He jeered, "Too good for you? Jelous?"

She said nothing.

Jack did.

"Oh yeah, you're the goody two shoes now, are you?" He snarled.

The Doctor turned to look coldly at him.

"Do you have a problem, Mr Harkness?"

Jack shoved him against the wall, his hand at the Doctor's throat.

"Do I have a problem? You killed me, you bastard. You killed me and it's like you don't even acknowledge it!"

The Doctor clutched at Jack's hand, trying to lessen his tight grip. Meanwhile, the other members of the group were frozen in shock.

Exept for Martha.

She grabbed Jack and tried to pull him off the Doctor. River got the gist and aided her.

Martha grabbed the butt of her gun and smashed it into the back of Jack's head, rendering him unconscious

"Thanks." The Doctor managed, massaging his throat.

"I didn't do it for you," she snapped, "Kate was right. You're not some kind of god we're meant to protect and respect above all else. This? I did it for him." She nodded to Jack. Martha left, half carrying, half dragging Jack. Kate followed.

"Way to make a first impression." River drawled.

"Shut up." He said.

She pecked his lips, and for a second, time stopped.

But she wasn't her.

"River, now's really not the time."

She smiled mischievously and followed the others out.

The Doctor sighed and slumped back into the chair, letting himself fall once again into dreams of Gallifrey, of the red grass, of the Untempered Schism, and of her.

**Well, that's different again to different chapters.**

**I actualy enjoyed writing that, especially the Jack part. I'm trying to fit action into a story that isn't based around that, and I think I'm doing well.**

**There should be more action as the story continues, but... actually, no, don't want to spoil it. Sorry.**

**See you soon, anyway, and thanks again to Mr Fantasitc Hair for the review!**

**Wait actually, almost forgot.**

**I mentioned that I'd be confirming the date of the Wholock first chapter, and now I can!**

**Itwill be out on the 15th of February, but will not be written by me. I'm also planning a Fiction Press thing, but you'll be waiting a little longer for that.**

**Anyway, I won't keep you any longer. Bye!**


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